Neither "Spider" nor "Girls" were particularly good, the sort of movies almost made for heavy Saturday afternoon rotation on HBO. But franchises centered around black actors are few and far between, so this could be a huge step up for Elba.

Fans of "The Wire" know Elba best as Stringer Bell, the brains behind Avon Barksdale's East Baltimore cocaine empire. But since the show's demise, Elba's slowly emerged as its breakout star. He's racked up about more than a dozen film roles since 2005, including "28 Weeks Later," "RocknRolla," and the upcoming "Thor."

Plot to "The Losers" Seems Awfully Familiar

Remember when we suggested that rather than an "A-Team" movie they should just make an "A Team" ripoff? Well they've gone and done both, it turns out. "The Losers" stars Jeffrey Dean Morgan (who dies in almost everything), Idris Elba (the only guy manly enough to start a catfight between Ali Larter and Beyonce), Zoe Saldana and Chris Evans (revisiting their "Star Trek" romance?) and a bunch of other folks who've never opened a movie. But it was written by Peter Berg, so give it half a chance. (Published Wednesday, May 30, 2012)

"Cross" goes into production in the spring of 2011, in the meantime you can next see Elba Aug. 27 in "Takers," as a member of a gang of bank robbers.

Published at 1:30 PM EDT on Aug 19, 2010 | Updated at 2:40 PM EDT on May 30, 2012